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National Lottery reveals Workington newsagent as UK’s

Media Assets

-£4.75 million raised for life-changing projects by Richard James newsagent and its customers

-Workington Town star rugby league players joined by giant
puppets from local music project, Soundwave, to present
commemorative plaque

A Workington retailer was today celebrating being named The National Lottery’s top
fundraising independent retailer in the whole of the UK.

Customers of Richard James newsagent in Finkle Street have helped raise a
staggering £4.75 million pounds for life-changing projects since The National Lottery
started in November 1994.

To mark the outstanding achievement, Workington Town RLFC star players Jarrad
Stack and Brett Carter joined giant puppets – commissioned by local music project,
Soundwave, to celebrate the Rugby League World Cup – to present a commemorative
plaque to the team at the store. All three organisations have benefited from National
Lottery funding.

Team captain Stack said: “What an achievement by Richard and everyone at his store.
National Lottery funding makes a real difference to projects.”

Full-back Brett Carter, who played for Scotland in the World Cup, added: “National
Lottery funding even helped make the Rugby League World Cup 2013 happen and I
know it was an experience I will always treasure. A big thank you must go to retailers
like Richard James and its customers.”

Richard James, owner of the store for nearly 30 years, said: ‘We were amazed to be
told we were the top fundraising independent retailer not just in Cumbria – but in the
whole of the UK! It’s great to get recognition for all the hard work we put in to
promoting and selling The National Lottery, and it’s wonderful to know that it really
benefits local projects.”

Manager Tracy Robinson, who has worked with Richard James for nearly 25 years,
added: “The plaque will take pride of place in the store so that our customers can see
what a truly life-changing difference they have made.”

The National Lottery supports a wide range of arts, sport, heritage, charity and
voluntary projects. To date, National Lottery players have raised over £30 billion for
National Lottery projects, with more than 420,000 individual awards made across the
UK – an average of 135 lottery grants for every postcode district.

In the North West region as a whole, over £3.6 billion has been invested into nearly
38,000 National Lottery projects.

Workington based SoundWave has received more that £1.5million over 10 years from
National Lottery distribution bodies such as the BIG Lottery Fund and the Arts Council.
Most recently their Opera Studio project with Rosehill received £30,000 of funding to
help people across Cumbria experience and enjoy the benefits of singing classical
music. As part of the project giant singing puppets were created to celebrate the
arrival of the Rugby League World Cup in Workington.

Sarah Kekus, Acting CEO, SoundWave, said: “National Lottery funding has been
crucial for us at SoundWave to put on many of our activities over the years, such as
Opera Studio which helps people all over Cumbria find their singing voices and build
their confidence and self-belief. National Lottery players, like the customers of Richard
James, should be proud that they’re making a real difference in their area.”

This autumn, £500,000 of National Lottery funding was invested to support the staging
of Rugby League World Cup 2013 across the country as part of the UK Sport Gold
Event Series. Workington Town RLFC itself also received a National Lottery grant in
2010 to help develop its successful community activities.

Marnie Jackson, Community Manager at Workington Town Community Foundation,
said: “We’re delighted to help celebrate Richard James’ achievement. We know how
important National Lottery funding can be. Small businesses like Richard James raise
valuable funds which in turn enable organisations like ourselves to make a real
difference to the lives of hundreds young people in the area.”

Jackie O’Sullivan, Director of the National Lottery Good Causes, said: “The National Lottery
supports projects people really care about. Funding can make a life-changing difference to
arts projects, such as Soundwave, and sports clubs like Workington Town, which act as
focal points for local communities. We couldn’t do it though without the efforts and support
of independent retailers, like the team at Richard James, and their customers who play The
National Lottery.”